This invention relates to a surgical table which can be positioned to facilitate surgical procedures.
Chymopapain is an injectable drug which has come to be used as an alternative to surgery in treating herniated lower back discs when more conservative measures such as bed rest and traction have failed. Chymopapain is intended to be injected into a herniated disc in a hospital setting. In practice, a patient is positioned on his side on a table, and then supports are placed under the side of the patient as necessary to position the spine properly in order to allow the insertion of a needle into the herniated disc between adjacent lumbar vertebra. Typically, the needle insertion process is performed while a fluoroscope is used to monitor the position of the needle and of the adjacent vertebra.
In the past, fixed humps and readily available supports such as pillows, towels and the like have been used to position the spine of the patient into the desired position. These approaches have not proved entirely satisfactory. A fixed hump cannot be adjusted in a progressive manner to accommodate the differing curvatures needed for different patients. Readily available supports can move in use, and they cannot be progressively and gradually adjusted in a simple and controllable manner.
Thus, a need presently exists for a surgical table that can be shaped and positioned as needed to position the spine of a patient correctly for surgical procedures, such as the injection of Chymopapain or other enzymes as described above.